All of a sudden 3 out of my 4 electrical plugs in my room have stopped working..?

Question

I had a food steamer going as well as a rice cooker, and a electrical kettle.

but the one with the rice cooker and electric tea pot plugged into it still works.

what has happened to the others?

how can i repair them?

(btw, I tried turning off and on the switch in rthe breaker box, but they still dont work. just that one out of the four)

Answer 1

Turn of the breaker and take the working outlet from the wall.

Probably you will see the problem. The working outlet feeds the others. Probably you will either find a burnt connection on the outlet or some lose wire nut connectors.

Although outlets all look the same, they are either rated at 15 or 20 amp capacities. A 20 amp outlet is for use with #12 electrical wire which can handle 20 amps. 20 amp circuits should be used for most type of appliance as you were using. However #12 wire handling 20 amps should not be connected to a 15 amp outlet.. When you had your appliances going 20 amps were too much for the outlet and either burned out the outlet or overheated the connections.

You should replace all the outlets with the appropriate size.
This is a very common problem and unfortunately the overheating can result in a fire. Hope this is a clear explanation.

Answer 2

3 of the plugs will be on a different circuit to the other one.

Look in the breaker box again. There should be a row of switches (NOT the main switch). One of these will be off. Turn it on. If you don't have a modern box, and you have old fashioned fuses, you will have to work out which one has gone and fix it with fuse wire.

If that is not the problem you need an electrician. Good luck

Answer 3

Check to see if there is an outlet in the bathroom. Some of these are protected against people dropping a hair dryer into the bath. There is a red button on it. If that switch is on the same line as the steamer, it may have popped.

;-D Push the button back in. Use a lower amp device on that line and put the steamer on the other line.

Answer 4

If you have already turned the breaker off and on, that is probably not your problem at this point if all the outlets are controlled from the same one.. Verify that none of the other outlets are a GFI type. Ground faults can easily trip and shut power off to several outlets. Older styles have a red and black button on them, newer styles have an indicator light. If this is not the case, then you will need to turn OFF power to the outlet that is working and remove it from the box. No need to unwire, just unscrew it and pull it away so you can make sure no wires have come loose. If all looks good then post again for more possible situations.

Answer 5

Have you just been switching off the main supply or is it the actual breaker to that part of the electrical circuit. You may find that the Socket that still works is in a different circuit..although it is in the same room it may be a spur taken off the upstairs ring main

Answer 6

Most other people say its breakers.

maybe, but it seems you've checked that.

How about you have a loose wire, either the live or neutral loose would give you these symptoms.

however, if this does turn out to be the case that means you have a "radial" circuit rather than a ring main. This is old fashioned and could account for burnt wires if the load is high.

If it does turn out to be a radial circuit you should look to replace this sooner rather than later.

Answer 7

it sounds like you may have overloaded the circuit.

Have you checked the fues in the fusebox. There will be a number of cartridges with a wire fuse in them for each circuit in the house, One for the lights upstairs, one down, one for the sockets upstairs, one down plus other cicruits for showers, boilers etc,

The one you need to look for will have a red marking on it.

Check the fuse in one of the red cartridges (TURN THE POWER OFF FIRST THO AT THE MAIN SWITCH)

if it is not a wire type switch, try resetting the button / switch on one of the red fuses.

be careful, and do not do this with wet hands,

If in doubt get in a pro


good luck :)

Answer 8

It sounds as though the other three are on a different circuit to the one which is working. Check the fuse box again as this is the most likely place to find the fault.

Answer 9

If one (or more) of the plugs is a GFI outlet, you probably need to reset the GFI breaker (the buttons located on the plug).

Answer 10

check the plugs or outlets if they are blackened or deformed.
I recommend kopez for outlets except the for the one you need to put in an electrical box because they use thermoplastic.